Understanding
by Relatively Unknown
Summary: Kagome goes somewhere to think about, who else, Inuyasha. There she meets up with someone who'll change her perspective forever, and show her that the answer she desired was right in front of her.


A/N: Um, I don't think I'll add a second part to "A Different Fight". Honestly I didn't think people would like it, and I think it's better left that way. Plenty of room for imaginations to abound!  
  
Twy: Uh-huh. You're just scared Innie is gonna pound you for giving him a braid.  
  
IY: Why do you insist on giving me a nickname?  
  
Twy: Dunno. Cuz it sounds cool.  
  
CA: Well thats a good reason right there.   
  
Twy: Ain't that how you got yours?  
  
CA: Nah, I got 'Trip' from the character of Star Trek: Enterprise.   
  
IY: Oh great. A hentai yami and Trekkie. Well don't I feel lucky.  
  
CA & Twy: Innie!  
  
IY: *sighs and growls*  
  
  
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"Kaede?" Kagome asked the old woman who was preparing some herbs for a villager.  
  
  
"Yes, Kagome?" The reply was met without a look in her direction. It was Kaede's way-- everyone had learned that by now.  
  
  
"I think I'm going to take a walk. Tell the others I'll be back later, should they ask." Kaede nodded.  
  
  
"Very well, but be back before nightfall. There have been some reports of a soul-stealing youkai wondering around; I don't think these rumors should go entirely unwarranted. Be careful, or that fool of hanyou will get himself hurt again." Kaede hadn't meant that last comment to be an insult to Kagome, but it felt like one to her anyway. She nodded and left, heading for the woods.  
  
  
~A soul-stealing youkai? I haven't heard any rumors. I wonder just what Kaede meant.~ Kagome sighed. There was never any figuring out that woman. She'd say one thing to mean another one day, and then say it again and mean what it actually said the next. It was a guess as to whether or not read between the lines.  
  
  
~Even so, if there was one, it wouldn't come after me. Why would it want an alma perdida? A lost soul.~ Kagome remembered that her Spanish penpal used to call her that. The lost soul, the wandering soul. ~Or a reincarnated soul would be more like it.~ She thought bitterly. Giving up the fight with herself, she let her mind stay clear until she reached her destination.  
  
  
The most beautiful place in the forest. Kagome had discovered it by accident once. She had been chasing after Inuyasha to try and stop him for doing something stupid-- she didn't catch him, either-- when she literally ran into it. A scene that no artist could ever do justice. The forest abruptly ended into a small meadow, where it surrounded it on all sides. A few yards brought you to a small stream, and just up the stream, at the northernmost corner of the meadow, was a waterfall. The crystal clear water fell over the worn stones, giving them a sort of luster. Sometimes the sun would hit the water just right, giving it a warmth and the appearance of a ballet of sparks and embers dancing across it. The water would then fall over the rocks to the pool below; a just barely seen rainbow crossed the fall almost in the middle, like a bridge connecting the two banks below.   
  
  
The stream that water formed kept its clarity and sparkle, but added a smooth, drifting flow that was soothing to the senses. The banks on either side were covered with grass so green, that a field of emeralds could not compare. It was cool to the touch, and yet it had warmth that couldn't be described by any words from any language. The forest gave the meadow its walls, its edges, its barriers. It all seemed impenetrable, but then, why would anyone want to leave? If this was not heaven, Kagome thought, then she would forsake all heavens for a moment in this place.   
  
  
It was a reflective place, a thougtful place. The philosophers of the world would write and contemplate this place, regarding it as the mythical Atlantis reborn; Kagome thought of this place as a salvation. It was her place. And it would be here that Kagome would wonder about her most curious thought or tenet-- a certain being named Inuyasha.  
  
  
~I wish I could just figure him out. At first, I thought he hated me, or at least held me in contempt. Then that incident at the Well happened. First he yells at me for not being afraid, then he hugs me and tells me how he was afraid that he had almost lost me, and then he pushes me away, taking my necklace, and shoves me into the Well. Confusing, ne?~ Kagome bitterly teased herself. ~He can be such a jerk to me or he can be kind and caring. Of course, every time Kikyou shows up in one form or another, he's off to her! I guess I can't really blame him. She was his first love, and those die hard.~ Kagome knew that for a fact.   
  
  
Sure, she had thought she liked other boys before, but then she met Inuyasha and she knew what it truly felt like to be in love with someone. It was consuming in a way, knowing that the other didn't return the feelings. Kagome was just the remake, the sequel, the clone, the copy, whatever you wanted to call it. That's all she was. And all she would remain to be in his eyes.  
  
  
It was strange how she almost accepted this. ~There's no use living a fantasy, so why bother? I cannot be what I wish to be; I can only be what I am, and that is nothing in his eyes.~ Depression may have been a factor of this thought, but it was not the cause. The cause was... Honestly, Kagome didn't know. Nor did she care. ~It's not the cause that matters; it's the effect.~  
  
  
"And why do you say that?" Kagome started at the voice. From her position on the eastern bank, she looked around her, but couldn't pinpoint where the voice had come from.   
  
  
"Who's there?" She asked, nothing above a whisper, but somehow she knew whoever it was would hear her.  
  
  
"You're correct; I did hear you. Should I appear?" It didn't wait for an answer. Before her eyes a shape formed. It slowly appeared to become more and more solid, finally become what seemed to be a minature dragon not ten feet away from her.  
  
  
"You're that soul-stealing youkai, aren't you?" Kagome guessed. The dragon, an explosion of ever changing color, nodded. It moved a little bit closer, and Kagome had a better look at it.   
  
  
It was only a maybe yard and half long, but it still gave a feeling of power despite its size. The scales were metallic in look, and the colors shifted with the slightest movement, creating a rainbow that rivaled the waterfall's. But to Kagome, the most amazing thing about this creature was the eyes-- they were human! A glittering turquoise, they weren't slitted like most youkai. They were as human as Kagome's.  
  
  
"My name is Riji." Kagome gave a small smile and inclined her head a bit, giving the youkai his due respect. She made no other movement. "Why are you not afraid? Do you not worry that I will take your soul?"  
  
  
"Perhaps, though I don't think you will. Why would you want my alma perdida?" Kagome replied. Riji smiled and looked at her with his human eyes.  
  
  
"Your soul is not lost, merely... misdirected." He spoke in a soft voice, as smooth and soothing as the stream they sat by. "Kagome, the answer you seek is right in front of you. Why do you not see it?"  
  
  
"Maybe because the answer isn't there." She said simply. "At least not the one I want." Riji sighed, and was silent for a few moments.  
  
  
"You wish you could understand him, don't you?" He finally asked. Kagome nodded. "I cannot explain him to you, no, but I can give you a nudge in the right direction. Do you trust me?"  
  
  
Kagome was suprised by that question. A youkai just materialized a few minutes before and now it was asking her if she trusted him? It was bizarre in the reasoning, but Kagome did indeed trust him.   
  
  
"Yes."   
  
  
"Then listen and obey what I tell you." Kagome nodded. "Close your eyes." She did so without hesitation. "Now clear your thoughts and focus only on my voice. Listen to its rhythm, the way the words form a sort of pattern and rhyme of their own. It's soothing, isn't it?"  
  
  
"Yes."  
  
  
"Now, keeping your thoughts cleared, start to focus your senses. Let's start with hearing first. Listen to the water falling from the rock; the sound of the wind whispering through the grass. Let it wander, but keep your focus."  
  
  
Kagome did as she was told. At first there was nothing, but then it seemed as if the world was opening up to her. She heard the wind singing its song, the sound of the birds and beasts quietly going about their business, the hushing tone of the water falling fromt the rocks and the pool below... It was fascinating.  
  
  
"Don't let it lure you away completely; you will always need to leave a part of you awake in this world. Do you understand?" Kagome could only nod. "Very well. Keep listening, but shift your focus now to scent. Do the same as before. What do you smell?"  
  
  
"Everything." Kagome replied after she finished, her voice drunk with fascination. She could smell the scent of every flower, of every blade of grass; the scent of the water, the trees, the earth, the sky, and yes, she could even smell the scent of the youkai sitting in front of her.  
  
  
"Keep doing the same thing, slowly opening all of your senses. Let sight be the last, and will understand why. And you will understand him. The answer was always before you, Kagome. You just had to truly see it." Riji spoke even more softer than he had. He lapsed into silence as she continued to open up her senses. He watched her, feeling her awareness grow deep within her. Yes, she would finally understand.  
  
  
Finally it was time for sight. When Kagome opened her eyes, she was overwhelmed. If the waterfall and the meadow had been heaven before, it was a bliss beyond all comprehension now. Every color and detail seemed enhanced somehow by a force she couldn't explain. She could now see, hear, smell, taste, and feel everything around her! The sensitivity was astounding! And the colors, oh those wondrous shifting colors of Riji's scales were beyond all and any words ever written!  
  
  
"Kagome?" Riji's voice brought Kagome back down to earth a little bit. Not much, but enough not to be completely distracted by everything. "Why do you think he pushed you into the Well?"  
  
  
"Because he didn't want me around." She answered without thinking.   
  
  
"And why wouldn't he want you around? Think now, use your senses; they won't lie to you."   
  
  
Kagome let herself fall into thought. ~He didn't want me around because he wouldn't be able to look after me and fight at the same time.~ She shook her head. No, that wasn't right. The wind whispered to her; she listened. It carried the words of Inuyasha to her, the words he spoke to her at the Well. But not just the words; it carried the emotions behind them. It was fear and... Love?  
  
  
"You have found your answer, Kagome. It is time for me to leave you now."  
  
  
"He's coming." She said; it didn't amaze her that she could hear his approach when he was at least a quarter of a mile away. Then Riji's words sunk in. "Wait, why? Why did you help me?"  
  
  
"You know that answer as well. Don't ask questions you already know the answer to."  
  
  
"I'll keep that in mind." Riji began to fade. "Wait, I just want to thank you. Whoever you truly are, thank you."  
  
  
"It was you, Kagome. All I did was point you in the right direction." Riji continued to fade. "It was all you."  
  
  
And then he was gone, and Kagome was alone again. Her senses seem to dim a little, but they remained on their higher level. Laying down to watch the rapidly darkening sky, she waited until he reached her. When he stood above her, half glaring, she didn't say anything, just looked at him.  
  
  
"There you are, wench! Kaede told you to get back before dark! She told you the rumors." He growled. Kagome sighed and stood up.   
  
  
"The rumors are wrong. He isn't soul-stealing youkai; he is a soul-directing one."   
  
  
"What are you babbling about? C'mon, we have to get back before Shippou comes after us and gets lost in the forest again." Kagome reached out and lightly but firmly grabbed his arm. He looked at her in surprise and confusion.  
  
  
"Wait." She said. "I want to ask you something. The wind has spoken to me; it says that at that day at the Well, before you pushed me in, you had two emotions with you. One was fear for my safety, and the other... And the other was love. Inuyasha, do you love me?" Kagome couldn't face him, but her senses told her all she needed to know. She felt a rush of feeling course itself through him. There was very strong and powerful one and an underlying one. But which one was which she didn't know.   
  
  
"Kagome, I..." He didn't finish. Forcing herself to look up at him, she saw her answer in his eyes. "Kagome, I do love you." Her heart soared at those words. "But, I'm afraid of what might happen to you as a result of it."  
  
  
Surprising them both, Kagome hugged him, throwing her arms around his neck. He complied by hugging her back, the same as he had done to her at that day at the Well. She let him him bury his head into her shoulder; comforting him was what mattered now.   
  
  
"Inuyasha, don't be afraid. I'm not, and I know what the danger is. I know what could happen; but I know that you will always be there for me, as I will be for you. Don't be afraid." Pulling back just enough to face her, he looked at her with understanding.   
  
  
"I won't be afraid." He said. Kagome smiled. "But perhaps, we should still keep this between us."  
  
  
"Perhaps." Kagome said. As the two left the meadow and the waterfall hand in hand, a figure watched the display from atop a bordering tree.   
  
  
~Her senses will allow her to keep herself and him more secure, and will allow her to finally see things that were always in front of her. Yes, a wayward soul has returned to its path. My work here is finished.~ And with a small flash of light, the meadow, the waterfall, the stream, and a small dragon vanished without a trace.  
  
  
  
CA: Ooo... Ah....  
  
Twy: Wow. What do you think Innie?  
  
IY: *stuffing himself with Ramen* Mmph mm hmm mph.  
  
Twy: *translating* He says he likes.  
  
CA: Take your word for it. Review, please? 


End file.
